ASTRA waves the gender flag for women

As the gender debate rages in Australian politics, the Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association has announced near gender equality in the subscription television industry, with women making up 44% of the total workforce.

“It is great to see near gender equity in the STV sector. Women make up a powerful portion of TV’s audience, so it is only natural they play a significant role in creating and delivering engaging content and entertainment,” said CEO Petra Buchanan, (pictured).

The numbers released as a prelude to the third annual ASTRA Australian Content Survey to be announced on Wednesday 31st October highlight the strength of the female workforce within the sector. For the 2011-12 financial year, there was a 56% gender split across the STV industry amongst the 4,657 staff employed directly by ASTRA members in salaried, part time or contract positions, with a difference of 559 more men. This data does not reflect the staff and crew employed by third party entities (production companies, publicity, marketing, creative and advertising agencies that work in the STV sector).

In contrast to what may be the case in other sectors of the broadcasting industry, a significant number of CEO or equivalent positions in the STV sector are held by women, including for the Australian operations of Disney, Discovery Networks, Viacom, NBCUniversal, Turner International and Fox International Channels, as well as BBC Worldwide and the Australian STV community channel Aurora.

Three of the eight senior executives reporting to the Foxtel CEO are women, while four of the 11 members of the ASTRA Board are women, including the ASTRA CEO.